UIC
has created a new interdisciplinary research unit called the Center
for Developmental Psychobiology to explore mind-body interactions through
the life-span. Stephen Porges and C. Sue Carter, world-renowned researchers
in the field, joined UIC this month and will serve as codirectors. Their
appointments are subject to approval of the Board of Trustees.

Part
of UIC's Institute for Juvenile Research, the center will be an intellectual
magnet for scientists interested in social behavior, behavioral pathology,
developmental disorders and emotional regulation from several disciplines,
including endocrinology, neuroanatomy, neurobiology, psychiatry and
psychology. For Porges and Carter, who are married to one another, the
establishment of the center at UIC fulfills their career-long goal of
creating an interdisciplinary research center with talented colleagues
who share their dedication to studying neurobiological models of social
behavior and translating this knowledge into treatment strategies for
clinical populations.

Social
and behavioral sciences have long tried to explain and treat such urgent
clinical problems as autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, rage, conduct
disorders and attention-deficit disorders. "Unfortunately, we still
do not understand the causal mechanisms underlying these disorders,"
Porges said. "We know little about the factors that make one individual
vulnerable and another resilient. Treatments based on behavioral, psychological
and pharmacological models have had limited success but have fallen
far short of the ideal."

An
alternate model is needed that incorporates our understanding of human
neurobiology and how neurobiological states mediate and regulate behavior
and the range of psychological experiences, Porges said. The new center's
research will focus on applying neurobiological principles and knowledge
in developing explanations and treatments for dysfunctional behavior.

"Porges
and Carter are real stars in the world of psychobiology," said Dr. Joseph
Flaherty, head of psychiatry. "They and their research expand the collective
research efforts here in uncovering the mechanisms that govern human
behavior and well-being. Their work will bring significant contributions
to a biopsychosocial model of understanding the development of normal
and pathological behavior."

Porges
and Carter come from the University of Maryland, where Porges was chair
of the department of human development and director of the Institute
for Child Study and Carter was a distinguished university professor
in the department of biology. Porges has been active in several national
and international professional organizations. He has served as president
of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and is currently the
president of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive
Studies, a consortium of 20 prominent research-oriented societies. He
is a fellow of several divisions of the American Psychological Association
and a charter fellow of the American Psychological Society.

Porges
has been awarded numerous research grants from organizations such as
the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of
the Federal Human Resources Service Administration, the Unicorn Children's
Foundation and Cure Autism Now. He currently has a grant from the National
Institute of Mental Health to study the neurobiology of social development
in children. He has been awarded a patent for a methodology that enables
the dynamic assessment of the neural regulation of the heart. The methodology
is being used in more than 100 laboratories worldwide. Porges is currently
conducting research on a new biologically based behavioral intervention
designed to enhance the social behavior of autistic children. He has
written or contributed to more than 200 academic journal articles and
publications.

Carter's
research has focused on the biology of attachment behavior, particularly
in relation to hormones like oxytocin. In addition to her ongoing research
supported by the National Institutes of Health, Carter is writing a
book on the biology of monogamy. Carter is a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Society
for Behavioral Neuroscience. She is a member of the Animal Behavior
Society, the International Academy of Sex Research, the International
Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology, the International Society for Neuroendocrinology
and the Society for Neurosciences.

She
has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the Rockefeller
Foundation, and currently directs a large program project grant sponsored
by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that
examines the developmental consequences of oxytocin. Carter has written
or contributed to more than 200 academic journal articles and publications.